Hamilton City Centre | ? | 3x30 & 24 fl | Proposal

[anactualalien]

This is great news. I hope the atrium will survive, but hopefully he opens up that streetwall and sticks a tower on Wilson.

[durandy]

Nice reporting Joey, hope you can follow up on it. Seem to be some bully tactics by Lamb there both in the transaction and the legal proceedings.

[matt602]

A lot of the things I've seen Lamb do since coming to Hamilton have been pretty aggressive, which is why I don't have a very high opinion of him. I do however think this would be a great use of the City Centre if the building can actually support a new building over it.

[LRTfan]

Originally Posted by matt602

A lot of the things I've seen Lamb do since coming to Hamilton have been pretty aggressive, which is why I don't have a very high opinion of him. I do however think this would be a great use of the City Centre if the building can actually support a new building over it.

I actually love his aggressive style. It's really the only way Hamilton will get dragged out of the 1970's. Otherwise, city hall is happy to see us continue to shrink and the 120 NIMBYs who fill their inboxes constantly continue to run the show.
Get me some high-powered, aggressive, legit biz folks to save us from ourselves.
Someone like him owning City Centre would be a game-changer. Hope this pans out.

[JoeyColeman]

It will be interesting to see what more is learned when this finally gets moving in the legal process, and more information becomes public.

There's been a lot of rumour, which unless I can confirm cleanly, I don't report.

The zoning allows for a good mid-rise building, the City of Hamilton's leases expire between October 2020 and May 2021, and capital is looking to settle in new builds.

The attractiveness of this building for redevelopment are clear, the legal ruling hints at others who were in the bidding.

[LRTfan]

some interesting tidbits about this property location from the new downtown secondary plan.

It is in the tallest category for heights
It is labeled mixed-use, pedestrian focus...would be nice to see York and James animated again with street front uses.
It isn't labeled as having any historic significance...unless you like fake bell towers and cartoony plastic flags. LOL

The city height allowance here is 95 metres. Although as has previously been pointed out, their escarpment height is off by about 5 metres. A keen developer will do their own elevation study and find this extra 5 metres of space to add to their buildings.

Using Brad Lambs architectural package for TV City, 95 metres is 32 storeys. 100 metres is 34 storeys.
In a perfect world, someone buys this site and basically demo's most of it while adding 2-4 residential towers throughout the block. It's prime land in the middle of downtown. Could be a game-changer.

Joey, any idea who else was bidding?

[JoeyColeman]

I don't know who the other interested parties are for sure, the court case indicates there *may* be other parties looking to buy - and that *may* is on the very likely side of the word.

Other than this, I just have information that I haven't confirmed to both the accuracy and ethics standards of my work.

[King&James]

A North and South residential tower directly where Eatons used to stand, with entry off York and Co nesting into Jackson square would be an awesome addition. Animation through to James street with sidewalk patios would revive what has become a sad reminder of what happens when you overbuild retail.

[LRTfan]

if someone does a full demolition of this site, it opens huge opportunities.
Imagine new towers with retail facing James and York, but with a pedestrian greenway through the site running parallel to James, and then another set of towers on the west side of the new pedestrian zone...lots of possible options.

[ScreamingViking]

Dare to dream. I think the interior mall/atrium is worth keeping with a serious reno/redecorating, not for retail-only again but mixed use. The exterior should be totally reclad, with more glass and street-level units that all actually open to the street. It could all make for a good podium for several towers, a combo of mid- and high-rise -- residential where Eaton's used to be, and maybe a mixed office/res at the corner of James and York.

Just perhaps, it might finally get Yale & Manulife to do something substantial with Jackson Square, given an influx of potential new consumers and probable property value increase of its share of the block.

[JoeyColeman]

Keep in mind a couple of key things we know:

The foundation (at least) can support a larger building, meaning that anyone who buys the City Centre is likely to use this foundation instead of costly demolition and new foundation.

Thunder Alley is a $3.5-million renovation to the lowest level in the rear, and we should expect their lease includes compensation for early termination.

This is a wait and see.

In terms of Jackson Square, Yale's been doing a lot of infrastructure investments, and are seeking a extension of their lease to 99 years (from renegotiation) to make significant changes.

[King&James]

Unless Cadillac Fairview was thinking way ahead (mall opened in 1990, and was probably designed in '87) , the enhanced foundation probably was not intending residential towers, perhaps an additional floor of retail or offices.

Not sure where Thunder Alley is but if "rear" is the south end, then still lots of opportunity to place a pair of staggered towers on James and York.

[davidcappi]

I wonder if the foundation can be built upon, or if they mean they can "weave" another structure through the existing one kind of like Core Urban's The Alley or 488 University in Toronto.

The footprint of the podium is definitely large enough for two towers while maintaining proper setbacks and separations from other buildings, so it'll be neat to see what their engineering strategy is here.

[StEC]

Has there been movement on Lamb or someone acquiring HCC? I was just in there and it's looking more derelict and vacant than it's ever been, a truly sad state!

This property would perfect for a smaller version of the massive development in Toronto called The Well it's exactly what downtown needs!

[TheRitsman]

Just an interesting note. I was walking around on top of Jackson Square exploring a bit, and noticed that a certain sign was never taken down from the Hamilton City Centre...

[SteelTown]

This is a SIGNATURE investment. 77 James Street North (known as the Hamilton City Centre) up for sale! 1.7M sq. ft. on 3.54 acres of land along James Street North.

https://t.co/zxOcgeKw3X



https://twitter.com/marinitweet

[LRTfan]

Please Brad Lamb...please

[durandy]

Originally Posted by LRTfan

Please Brad Lamb...please

It can't be Lamb, he's suing the vendor for breach of his purchase with them. He tried to stop them from listing it and to force them to go through with their sale to him, at a lower price. The fact this is listed now can only mean he's failed to stop this.

[LRTfan]

Originally Posted by durandy

It can't be Lamb, he's suing the vendor for breach of his purchase with them. He tried to stop them from listing it and to force them to go through with their sale to him, at a lower price. The fact this is listed now can only mean he's failed to stop this.

Yes, but it doesn't mean he won't pony up if he really wants it.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

I've had so many wet dreams about that superblock...